This invention relates generally to solar energy collectors and, more particularly, to a sun tracking table that improves their operating efficiency.
Numerous devices for harnessing the sun's energy are described in the prior art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,558,452 and 8,165,435 are directed to solar energy collectors that employ domed structures and fiber optics, but neither teaches tracking the sun's position as it changes throughout the day. Some prior art solar energy collectors teach tracking the sun by rotating collector mirrors and adjusting associated angles such as azimuth. Prior art industrial solar collectors that employ photo voltaic (PV) solar cells utilize complex three-dimensional mechanisms to move the entire PV panel in order to track the sun. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) farms that employ concentrators utilizing mirrors or parabolic lenses occupy large areas of land on the order of a square mile Prior art CSP collectors of the type manufactured by Stirling Energy Systems under the product name SunCatcher that employ mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays require three-dimensional controlled movement of the entire collector array in order to track the sun. These prior art mirror collectors must be very sturdily constructed in order to handle the torsional forces resulting from mounting the heavy Stirling engine at the focal point of the mirror-covered parabolic dish. Considerable energy is wasted by the sun tracking mechanisms utilized to move these bulky prior art dishes over their full range of motion, thus reducing overall operating efficiency. Furthermore, sufficient space must be provided adjacent each collector array to prevent mechanical interference with other arrays within a CSP farm. This unused space further reduces the overall efficiency of the prior art CSP farms.
It would be advantageous to provide a solar energy collector utilizing one or more Fresnel lenses formed in a chosen geometric shape for focusing solar energy as one or more sun ray spots.
It would be further advantageous to provide a solar energy collector having a tracking table for tracking the movement of a sun ray spot impinging thereon.
It would be further advantageous to provide a solar energy collector having a wheel-equipped Stirling engine positioned on a flat or otherwise prepared surface to facilitate easy movement, controlled by a tracking table positioned proximate the flat surface, in concert with a moving sun ray spot impinging on a heat element of the Stirling engine.
These and other advantages are accomplished in accordance with the illustrated preferred embodiments of the present invention described below that serve to minimize the structural and operating costs associated with prior art solar energy concentrators that have enjoyed widespread commercial use in CSP farms.